Brown Bess Musket - (Weapon)

Brown Bess Musket - (Weapon) 'Brown Bess' is the popular name of a series of flintlock muskets produced by or for the British Army from the Marlborough wars in the early 1700s to the Napoleonic wars in the early 1800s. A long-arm with short wooden stock, precursor of the modern infantry weapon, it weighed about ten pounds, and the length of the barrel was forty-six inches. It was equipped with the bridle lock and capable of firing 6 shots a minute but inaccurate beyond 80 yards. This musket was the British Army's principal firearm in the eighteenth century; the name possibly derives from the fact that the barrel was browned by pickling to reduce glare and rusting. The weapon borne by the First Foot Guards in the American conflict was officially referred to as the Short Land Service Musket (new pattern) 1768. NCOs carried shorter versions, called fusils.